


Stay

by SpiritWorld



Series: Prompted Drabbles [1]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Angst, Canon Era, Grief/Mourning, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Minor Character Death, Secret Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-13
Updated: 2020-06-13
Packaged: 2021-03-03 18:53:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 662
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24700372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpiritWorld/pseuds/SpiritWorld
Summary: Arthur struggles to support Merlin when news of his mother's death reaches him.
Relationships: Merlin & Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Series: Prompted Drabbles [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1785715
Comments: 14
Kudos: 194





	Stay

**Author's Note:**

> I've been filling prompts on Tumblr for Merthur and have decided to put anything I write that ends up being under 1k into this 'Prompted Drabbles' Series. Anything over 1k is just uploaded on its own as I might make another series with some of them.

“Gaius,” Arthur greeted the physician as he entered his chambers.

“Sire,” Gaius greeted in return. “He is in his room.”

Arthur nodded to him in thanks, walking quickly up the stairs leading to Merlin’s room. He knocked once, not bothering to wait for an answer before he pushed open the old wooden door. He stepped into the small room, wincing at the way the door creaked as it closed behind him. Merlin was sat on his bed, leaned up against the cold, stone wall behind him with a piece of paper gripped tightly in his hands. His eyes shifted to rest on Arthur in recognition. The King nodded at him and moved to take a seat at the foot of the small bed. It squeaked under his added weight in protest.

“Merlin, I’m sorry about your Mother,” he started quietly, staring down at his hands in favor of looking the man next to him in the eyes. Arthur listened to the steady breaths coming from Merlin who hadn’t bothered to respond right away. The silence hung heavily between them. He wasn’t sure how much time had passed before Merlin spoke, his voice cracking and wavering as he did so.

“I never got to say goodbye,” he whispered. Arthur turned his gaze away from his hands to finally look at his servant. His eyes were stained red now, tear streaks visible down the side of his face. Now that he looked closer, he could see that the paper his servant was holding was a letter.

“It’s the last letter she wrote to me, just a fortnight ago,” Merlin supplied, having caught him staring. Arthur cautiously slid closer to him, placing his hands gently over the other man’s hands. He slowly pried the letter out of his fingers much to Merlin’s confusion. His eyes followed the King’s hand as it gently placed the letter on the bedside table. Arthur grabbed him by his shoulders without hesitation, pulling the grieving man into a tight embrace. Merlin stiffened in his arms, his breathing ragged against Arthur’s neck. The blond didn’t let go, whispering ‘I’m so sorry’ over and over into the other’s ear. He knew what it was like to lose a parent suddenly, just the year before he had lost his father and Merlin had been there for him much in the same way. There was nothing he could say to lessen the pain of the moment.

Arthur sighed in relief as he felt Merlin’s body slump against him. The man’s fingers dug into his chainmail, tears staining the red cape Arthur hadn’t had time to take off after an official council meeting. He moved his hand up to cradle Merlin’s head against his shoulder, running his fingers loosely down the nape of his neck. They hadn’t held each other in this manner outside of the confines of Arthur’s chambers since whatever this was between them had begun.

Arthur swallowed down the guilt that threatened to consume him as he remembered how he had denied Merlin’s request to go to Ealdor during the Harvest season. They had been busy in the castle around that time. More feasts were held than usual as Arthur met with dignitaries from around the five kingdoms for the first time as the King of Camelot. He supposed he could have had George stand in for Merlin, but a selfish part of him didn’t want to face this new burden of responsibility without his closest friend. As he continued to hold the man now, he wished he had had the strength to be less selfish.

“Arthur,” Merlin whispered against his shoulder. _Stay_. The word hadn’t been spoken aloud, but Arthur felt the request in the way the man clung to him, bringing them as close together as they could manage to be.

“I’m here,” he promised, placing a soft kiss to the side of Merlin’s head. He couldn’t change the past, but he could be the support the man needed now.

**Author's Note:**

> This was a prompt fill for @epic-sorcerer on Tumblr who gave me the prompt "I'm sorry Merlin... I'm so sorry." Go check me out on tumblr @Meteorjam if you want to make any requests. Thanks for reading!


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